Ross Blanchard

By Ross Blanchard Above: PDX Magazine Editor-in-chief Ross Blanchard (left) and author Joshua Ferris at Dave Weich’s Narrative Mechanics event. A couple of Sundays ago Dave Weich, president of Sheepscot Creative, invited around a dozen guests to his home in Southeast Portland for his first Narrative Mechanics event. The gathering focused on interviews and discussions with strategic communicators. His first interviewee was Josh Ferris, who was in town on a book tour for his new novel To Rise Again at a Decent Hour. This was not a “meet the author, ask him about his typewriter” scene at all. From the moment I entered Weich’s home, I could tell that something different was about to happen. So could the other guests, most of whom it appeared, like me, didn’t have much of a clue what was going on either. There was a camera crew, a small staff, a bartender. Guests were handed tarot-sized cards with inexplicable quotes on the back. We were given small round stickers and asked to place them below similar quotes on posters hung on the dining room walls. The meanings of these activities would be revealed later, I was told (they were). Then we were invited to have a drink, to…

Photos by Miri Stebivka from the PDX Magazine Issue No. 7 release party at Star Theater, part of the 2014 Soul’d Out Music Festival. Performers included Three For Silver, Rick Bain and the Genius Position, and Sallie Ford. Leo Daedalus hosted the event.

At the closing event “You Can’t Ride the Bus for Free Forever” for Place (an installation gallery in Portland), Keyon Gaskin performs amidst the exhibit “Shit Balloons.” According to gallery owner Gabe Flores, the exhibit contributed to Place losing its lease at Pioneer Place Mall. The gallery closed March 30, 2014 after its lease was abruptly terminated.

“Egyptian Ella.” Belly Dancer Jenny Maena Breed joins Willo Sertain of Three For Silver (vox and accordion), James Delaney of The Jenny Finn Orchestra (bass), James Cook of Trashcan Joe (tenor guitar), Jason Reichert of Down Home Music (slide guitar), and others to perform Walter Doyle’s 1931 song at Delaney’s residence on 2/25/2014. Video by Ross Blanchard Discover more about these musicians at their respective websites: www.ThreeForSilver.com www.jennyfinnorchestra.com www.trashcanjoe.com www.facebook.com/downhomemusicband